“Of all the time I’ve been on the school board, this is the best day,” said Fannin County Board of Education member Lewis DeWesse in reference to the long awaited purchase of land adjacent to Fannin County High School (FCHS).
The school board unanimously approved the purchase of 159.63 acres of land, in four tracts, adjacent to the FCHS campus for $9,999,779.38 using Special Option Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds.
The decision was made during a special called meeting of the board Tuesday, May 25.
FCHS is currently land locked, so the purchase of the property is for the future growth of the Fannin County School System for decades and generations to come.
“Fannin County students not yet born will benefit from this purchase,” School Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney said.
The board also approved several personnel recommendations in a meeting Monday, May 24. Most notably, David Henson was named Career Technical Agricultural (CTA) Supervisor for FCHS and Matt Rosenberger will fill an assistant principal role at Fannin County Middle School.
The board also approved paving the parking lot at East Fannin Elementary School, accepting a bid of $63,407.88 from Johnson Paving. SPLOST funds will be used to pay for the project.